Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin Ejected for Dirty Hit On De’Andre Hunter In Romp Over Cavaliers

A fight erupted between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers early in game four of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.

With less than five minutes left in the first quarter, the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin appeared to strike De’Andre Hunter in the midsection while the Pacers were attempting to inbound the ball.

In response, Hunter shoved Mathurin to the ground and a fight ensued.

Mathurin was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game. Hunter and Myles Turner were given technical fouls for the altercation.

Mathurin was ejected after only playing a single minute. He finished with zero points and one rebound.

“It’s a learning experience for him,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said about Mathurin. “Playoff series’ are chippy and personal. We’ve got to stay out of the weeds.”

Mathurin’s ejection was just about the only thing that went wrong for the Pacers on Sunday night. The Pacers won 129-109, taking a 3-1 lead in the series.

The Pacers led by as much as 44. At halftime, the Pacers led 80-39. The Cavaliers never led.

Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin and Turner all finished with 20 or more points. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton only finished with 11 points and five assists in 26 minutes.

As a team, the Pacers shot 52.7% from the field and 42.9% from three.

“I was really proud of our performance,” Haliburton said. “There’s still a lot of work to do. Feel good about this for tonight and move on.”